Monthly Message: Transitional Support Services available at Family Transition Place

June 26, 2025 · 0 Comments

Family Transition Place (FTP)’s Transitional Support (TS) Program is a multi-faceted team that can provide service in three main areas:

1. Legal support

2. Housing support

3. Transitional support

This team is dedicated to helping female-identifying individuals, with or without children, navigate these difficult and ever-changing systems. This program is filled with challenges that require out-of-the-box thinking and client-based solutions.

Other than the prevalent lack of safe and affordable housing resources, our clients are sometimes faced with challenges that go beyond resource barriers.

The impact of trauma, mental or physical health concerns, or addictions makes the challenge of finding housing even more difficult. We work individually with clients from all different walks of life to ensure a transitional plan is developed to help them work through these issues, towards safety and independence.

There are seven members of our TS team, all of whom deal with housing and legal issues in different aspects. Our Support Within Housing counsellor supports individuals with moderate to severe mental health issues who are having difficulty finding or maintaining housing. In a day, they could see several clients within the community, or in the client’s home, but would be regularly communicating with other clients by phone in between.

Some of the tasks that might be completed in a day are working with the client to fill out housing applications, crisis management, conflict resolution, support with household tasks, and conducting community drop-in groups.

Our Transitional and Legal Support counsellors help clients navigate the legal and housing systems while supporting them with goal setting. The individuals they assist are all looking for something similar: stability.

This may mean safe and affordable housing or the settling of a tumultuous court case. They will assist with connecting clients to community resources such as Legal Aid Ontario, lawyers or housing support and are able to see clients throughout Dufferin and Caledon.

One of the challenges for the whole TS team is explaining the reality of the current state of housing in our community. It feels very discouraging to tell clients that we cannot provide housing to them.

Often, they come to us with the hope that we can solve their problems, but unfortunately, we have no control over the housing market and rent rates in our community.

Within our control, however, is reaching out to people in the community and ensuring that they are connected to resources. Our Housing Support counsellor and Community Outreach counsellor do this all the time. They are constantly out in the community working with individuals living in precarious circumstances such as encampments.

Through their respectful and compassionate work, they can connect with people who are homeless or recently housed and help support them to be successful. These two positions are funded through Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada funding. Through Coordinated Access we work with Choices Shelter and Support Services and Dufferin County Community Services to ensure that folks are supported throughout their journey.

Our Second Stage Housing counsellor does everything from rent calculations for a client moving into one of our housing units to working with clients in the shelter who are looking for housing to successfully move on from the shelter. No easy task when there is such a lack of affordable housing.

All of our staff meet clients where they are at — literally wherever they are in the community, but also where they are at in their journey. Many clients are in crisis and the skill of the staff to walk beside and support clients is second to none. Staff empower women to be safe and to reach their full potential.

If you or someone you know needs support, compassionate staff are available to help 24/7.

Call 1-800-265-9178 or if you are in immediate danger, call 911.